THE MORNING RANT: There Is Massive Industrial Investment Under Way in the U.S. Due to Repatriation of Manufacturing

The March jobs report was released last week, and it “unexpectedly” showed that jobs are being created in numbers well in excess of what was predicted by “experts.”

“Job Growth Shatters Expectations in March, in Boost to Trump” [Politico – 4/03/2026]

178,000 jobs were created, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%. This happened despite the number of federal employees being at the lowest level since the mid-1960s (thanks to Trump and DOGE taking a chainsaw to the government payroll.)

Left-wing partisans and tariff-hating “free traders” who seek to enrich China at the expense of the U.S. have been blind to what is going on. But thanks to the tariff regimen imposed by Donald Trump, there is an industrial renaissance blossoming across America.

I write a lot about the auto industry, because I know it very well. What I am seeing is a massive reinvestment in auto manufacturing in this country, and it is reasonable to extrapolate that there is similar industrial reinvestment in other industries.

Nearly every major auto manufacturer is committing billions of dollars to new plants, or expanding existing plants. The announcements for these projects tend to include some statement to the effect of ”We want to move vehicle production closer to our customers,” while also acknowledging that tariffs are a compelling incentive to bring manufacturing to the states.

Before Trump-era tariffs, Nissan was domestically manufacturing about 45% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. That figure now exceeds 60% and the company is targeting 80% in the near future. Nissan has recently expanded its Tennessee plant, and its chief executive for the Americas, Christian Meunier, was recently quoted as saying, “The tariff was not a bad thing for us because it forced us to really accelerate our plan. We need to build where we sell. There’s no magic.”

Just a few days ago, Hyundai’s CEO announced a major new American expansion, spending another $26 billion and creating 25,000 new direct jobs. Hyundai is also aiming for 80% of its U.S. sales to be vehicles manufactured domestically.

Mercedes is moving production of its GLC SUV from Germany to the U.S., and expanding its manufacturing footprint in Alabama: “Mercedes-Benz to Pour $4B Into Alabama Plant as Trump Tariffs Reshape US Auto Strategy”

Mercedes North America CEO Jason Hoff says localizing production for high-volume models just makes good business sense given tariffs.

Toyota continues to increase U.S. production: “Toyota to invest $1 billion to increase U.S. production in Kentucky, Indiana plants” [CNBC - 3/23/2026]

“Toyota’s investment in the U.S. is for the long-term, tied to our philosophy of building where we sell and buying where we build,” Toyota Motor North America Chief Operating Officer Mark Templin said in a statement.

General Motors had been importing some vehicles from China. That production is coming back home: ”GM’s Buick Envision production shifting from China to US in 2028;
The onshoring of production is designed in part to mitigate tariffs that have driven up the price of the compact SUV and cut into sales” [Wards Auto – 01/23/2026]

This headline is from a year ago, when Honda started this massive round of U.S. investment:

“Honda to produce next Civic in Indiana, not Mexico, due to US tariffs” [Reuters – 3/03/2025]

I live in the South, in an area ringed by auto assembly plants built in recent decades. Those plants have brought a great deal of prosperity – not just directly from jobs at those plants, but in suppliers that have sprung up, and suppliers to suppliers, etc. There is wealth being created and cash flowing in, and the prosperity continues to circulate and recirculate from all the jobs and spending within those supply chains.

And remember, what I’m discussing here is just from the auto industry. The industrial renaissance is across all industries.

Carig Fuller of Freightwaves has been monitoring the trucking industry, which is suddenly having a golden era. The crackdown on foreign drivers who should not have been issued CDLs is certainly benefiting legitimate trucking companies, but beyond that, the absolute volume of freight being hauled by trucks is spiking upward as the domestic economy heats up: “Truckload volumes and spot rates hit multi-year highs; It’s not just capacity: Truckload volumes hit multi-year highs” [Freightwaves – 3/19/2026]

Freightwaves is also reporting a surge in rail freight:

[Rail] carloads increased 6.5% year-over-year, led by gains in grain, coal, and other industrial products. Year-to-date shipments were the highest since 2023, wrote Rand Ghayad, chief economist for the Association of American Railroads, in a monthly analysis.

Thank you President Trump for re-industrializing the United States, and for the jobs and prosperity being created in this new industrial era in America.

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

posted by Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM

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